Liverpool Thread

Re: Liverpool Thread

Zhirkov is definitely better than Downing, How can you say he's only had 1 good performance against Sweden? For one how many times has Downing played in Europe? Zhirkov is a consistent CL performer he has proven himself at the top level. no doubt Downing has potential but i personally think Young is the better player? nothing wrong with that is there? also i wouldnt call "Young" a cool name now would I :LOL:
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Can't say I really noticed Zhirkov before the Euro's to be honest.

Not sure you can judge how good a player is by how much they've played in Europe either.
 
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a bit like Pennant but can cross?

Sign him up.

If you can beat a man and cross, and like Downing you can score goals, you're quids in.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Lucas just got sent off for a very stupid tackle on Mascherano in the olympics. Mascherano has been immense.

:LOL: Mascherano just got another player sent off!
 
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Re: Liverpool Thread

DagsJT said:
Why is he playing Dossena? Why would he spend money on someone not to play him? Maybe because he's a good player and his confidence will be high from just being called into the Italian squad?

Degen is injured. And plays right-back, Dossena is a left-back.
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Degens probably a better left back as well, hell Riise was better than this shithouse.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

dossena was awesome in defense, a little suspect when he had to play the ball forward. I enjoyed your match this weekend. good win
 
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This is our year, we have much more team than previous years:
Reina
Mascherano
Gerrard
Xavi Alonso
Fernando Torres

And then a very complete team with a lot of good players
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

LIVERPOOL are ready to turn their attentions to Albert Riera as hopes of bringing the Gareth Barry saga to a successful conclusion fade.

The Espanyol winger has been on Rafa Benitez’s radar for some time and is under consideration to fill the Reds’ troublesome left wing spot along with Middlesbrough’s Stewart Downing.

Liverpool scouts watched Riera on several occasions last season and the 26-year-old is thought to have improved a great deal since he spent a year on loan at Man City two seasons ago.

Riera has already made it clear that he would relish a move to Anfield if Liverpool were to make a concrete offer for his services and a bid could now be imminent with the Reds’ move for Barry all but dead.

The Liverpool board refuse to meet Aston Villa’s £18m asking price for the England man, believing it to be far in excess of what the player is worth.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

OVER the weekend Rafa Benitez moved to deny claims in parts of the media that we was about to resign in fury after Liverpool’s owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett pulled the plug on the Gareth Barry transfer bid. Here Liverpool writer Tony Barrett examines the ongoing tensions behind the scenes at Anfield which have surfaced with the Liverpool boss again airing his long-held frustrations at the start of the new season.

Barry and Alonso

TO put it bluntly, if Rafa Benitez had had his way Gareth Barry would now be a Liverpool player and Xabi Alonso wouldn't.

The Reds boss was more than willing to sacrifice Alonso – and belatedly told him so – if it meant Liverpool would then be in a position to sign Barry.

But as the Barry deal dragged on without being concluded and Liverpool did not receive the big offers for Alonso which Benitez had hoped for, an unhealthy impasse was created which is still to be resolved.


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The relationship between Benitez and Alonso has deteriorated, to the point where the pair had a bust up in the build up to the Champions League qualifier against Standard Liege.

Having previously been settled at Anfield, Alonso is now adamant he has to leave after learning that his manager no longer values him as highly as he once did.

The problem is, Liverpool have not had an offer which would allow them to do business and grant Alonso – and Benitez for that matter – his wish.

Both Juventus and Arsenal have expressed an interest but the figures mentioned by both clubs came nowhere near to meeting Liverpool's expectations.

The situation is complicated still further by the fact that the deal which brought Alonso to Anfield saw Liverpool guarantee his former club Real Sociedad 6m euros if he was sold for 16m euros or less.

Anything above that and a 20% sell on clause kicks in, making it almost impossible for Liverpool to sell Alonso for 16m euros or less and still claim to have done good business.

Meanwhile, Benitez remains desperate to sign Barry before the transfer window closes but, despite claims from the Reds boss that he has been assured by Tom Hicks that the necessary finance is in place, it is unclear as to whether or not this is the case.

Benitez to walk away?

DESPITE reports suggesting that the Reds boss had considered his position, resignation was never a serious possibility.

As well as the myriad of reasons given by Benitez in his denial of the stories, there are two other key factors which need to be taken into account.

Firstly, the days of top managers giving up on contracts which plough millions of pounds into their bank accounts every single year over a point of principle appear to be long gone.

Secondly, and more importantly, there is no chance of Benitez walking away while at loggerheads with Rick Parry as he would feel he had suffered a very public loss of face.

His frustration at the failure to sign Gareth Barry is there for all to see and there have been times during the past 10 days when it has even turned to exasperation but quitting has not been a consideration.

Conspiracy theorists have pointed to the fact that the "Benitez on brink of Liverpool exit" story first appeared on the home page of Spanish journalist Guillem Balague as evidence that the Reds boss had pulled a stunt to alert the world to how frustrated he had become.

But even his biggest critics agree that if this was the case, the timing was awful as not only did the story appear less than 24 hours before Liverpool's first game of the season, it also meant that Benitez's attempts to turn the spotlight on Parry at the pre-match press conference was rendered instantly futile.

Balague is a hugely respected journalist with excellent contacts throughout football and he stands by his story that Benitez had thought about quitting.

What is beyond doubt is that, even if this was the case, it was never a serious consideration.

The owners

NEITHER Tom Hicks nor George Gillett have gone public on the ongoing Gareth Barry situation despite the continuing fallout.

But privately, Gillett is fuming that Rafa Benitez has chosen to make his displeasure public about Barry not being a Liverpool player.

The American businessman and his son Foster were heavily involved in the bid to bring Barry to Anfield and believe the Reds boss has since overstepped the mark.

Hicks' position on the matter is less clear with Benitez having told the media at the weekend that the Texan has told him the money is in place to sign Barry despite the fact that no further offer for the player is imminent.

Significantly, Hicks and Gillett chose not to put their names to an official club statement insisting the £18m asking price for Barry was too high, preferring to leave it to go out in Parry’s name.

In effect, Parry was handed a smoking gun, in all likelihood because the owners feared any perceived lack of backing for Benitez would have a negative effect on their already negligible popularity among Liverpool's fans.
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Some interesting points there.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

IT’S an old football saying – back him or sack him – and it’s one Liverpool should be adopting with Rafa Benitez right now.

I share Rafa’s belief that Gareth Barry would be an excellent addition to Liverpool’s present squad. Equally I accept that he’s not worth £18m.

But if the money is available in the club coffers and the manager wants to spend it, he should be given those resources.

That’s how successful football clubs work.

Except it doesn’t seem to be working that way at Anfield right now.

If the manager is allowed to buy the players he wants, you can then judge the manager on how those signings perform.

If Rafa signs Gareth Barry, and Liverpool don’t progress into at least the top two, then the manager wouldn’t have any excuses for a lack of progress. At the moment the Reds boss would be justified in saying he is not being allowed to do the job to the best of his ability.

On the evidence of the first two matches there is still clearly plenty of room for improvement in the Reds’ starting line-up – although I’m a firm believer of the philosophy that you just need to win your first match of the season no matter how you perform.
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And another good point. Everyone slating Rafa when he hasn't been able to get players he wanted and has had to work with his hands tied constantly.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

gomito#10 said:
dossena was awesome in defense, a little suspect when he had to play the ball forward. I enjoyed your match this weekend. good win
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Same

Didn't let much past him him in defense. Didn't venture forward much though, which was unexpected as he has a reputation of an attacking full back. I guess he'll play his more natural game once Masch is back.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

ESPANYOL are set to continue their hardline stance over Albert Riera – and insist Liverpool meet his £16million release clause.

The Spanish club are aware that Rafael Benitez has money to spend after the Gareth Barry deal was blocked by the owners, who were unwilling to go to £18million for that particular player.

But with Benitez in the market for a left-sided player to bolster his squad, Riera has re-emerged as one of the possibilities he is weighing up.

Liverpool considered making an offer in June when Riera hinted he wanted to leave the La Liga club after hitting out at their supporters. But Benitez was unwilling to enter a bidding war for the 26-year-old then – valuing the player at closer to the £9million mark – and that stance hasn’t changed.
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Espanyol can piss off too. Does my head in when clubs try to fleece other teams that are known to have money. Transfer fees are too high anyway and stunts like what Villa and Espanyol are doing are driving prices up constantly.

I say scrap transfer fee's and come up with some other system, because it's just getting (already has?) silly now.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

If you look at it from their point of view though, they'd be losing a key player that is under contract. They need him more than you do.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Unless he's HUGELY improved from his City days, I'd have to say he's not worth £16m.

But I am seeing reports that he has improved a bit so he could be worth that much I suppose.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

I've only seen him 4 games last season, but he sort of humiliated Barcelona :( (just like Sevilla's Capel did). So i'd say that if 'someone' paid L7/L11 mil for Crouch and someone else L21 mil for Wright-Phillips maybe Riera's worth that much too.

I was amased - with what dribbling power i saw in him - how come a big club hadn't already signed him? ...there must be a secret :P
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

However, a move for Stewart Downing seems unlikely given Boro’s reluctance to sell so near the deadline while Espanyol are asking £16m for Albert Riera, a player Liverpool value at nearer £9m. Reports in France have claimed Benitez is again keeping tabs on Grenoble’s highly-rated 19-year-old midfielder Sofiane Feghouli.
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Anyone know him? Any French people available to comment on him?
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez and chief executive Rick Parry have held clear-the-air talks.

Last weekend Benitez revealed his frustration over his perceived lack of boardroom support in trying to sign Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.

"Talks have taken place. It was a positive discussion and we will now move forward together," said Benitez.

Parry told the club's website: "I can confirm we had a friendly and positive meeting and we're moving forward."
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We really shouldn't be seeing any of this in public. It's like bloody Big Brother supporting our club! People falling out, arguements, failing tasks, having a small shopping budget ... ARGH!
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Heh let's leave that behind us, seems there isn't any news on the transfers at all, i'm quite sure we'll be lacking a good winger this early season.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Abhishek said:
See, this is what I don't get.

Ashley Young is consistent, can beat his man, put in a decent ball and also chips in with goals. Oh well, so is Downing. As a matter of fact, Downing was the highest scoring midfielder last season after Gerrard, Lampard and of course Ronaldo. And he got around 10 assists, when Boro had average strikers like Mido playing. And not just last year. He's been doing it for a few years now. And he's naturally left footed, which Young is not.

And Zhirkhov? Seriously? What has he down to prove that he is better than Downing? One good performance against Sweden?

I seriously feel sorry for players like Downing. Just 'cos he doesn't have a fancy name, plays for Boro, rather than a Spanish club, and hasn't been bought for an inflated fee by another club, he's considered nowhere near good for a top 4 team, especially Liverpool, where he'd be better than any other wide player we have.

People ignore the fact that for over 2 years, he's been consistently performing in the league, and has been at the top of the assists charts. And last season, when Boro didn't seem to have quality strikers, he took it upon himself to contribute by scoring some goals himself, while still creating goals. A player who's consistently performed against the Big 4, and has been Boro's biggest danger whenever they've played the big teams. Was more impressive that any other players over both fixtures against us IMO. Scored a goal, created one and hit the cross bar one, only against Liverpool. Not to mention he made Chelsea cling onto dear life when Boro played them. And ripped apart Arsenal at the Riverside last season and against United.

But no, he's not good enough, he plays for fucking Boro....
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I agree completely. I think it's pretty hard to play as well as Downing has over the last few seasons in the Prem without much by way of support. I don't think he should be overlooked simply because he didn't get picked up by a bigger club before he matured as a player.

Certainly there is a chance of him not being able to make the leap once at a club as pressure packed at Liverpool... but there is also the chance that he improves by leaps and bounds with better players around him.

It's unfair to write off his club chances based on his form for country... if that was the case, there'd be little room for any English internationals at any top clubs based on the current run of the national squad.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Who is (or will most often be) your full-backs this season? I've got Finnan in my Fantasy Football team but he didn't pick up any points this week. Is he injured or has someone got the nod over him?
 
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